The Turkish Bath (Hamam)

Healthful steam baths (hamam) have been popular in Turkey for thousands of years, many of them surviving from Hellenic and Roman times.

The Ottomans perfected the hamam, or Turkish bath which, like the Roman bath, had three rooms: the grand, steamy hot room (caldarium) for steam-soaking and massage; the warm room (tepidarium) for washing with soap and water; and the cool room for resting or napping (perhaps in a private cubicle) after the bath with a cup of Turkish coffee or a glass of tea.

Hamams were social centers, and the only baths in Turkey until the mid-20th century when western-style tub-bath-and-shower plumbing began to be accepted.

Today modern Turks may shower in the morning before going to the office, but many still reserve time for a weekly steam-and-scrub at a hamam, a good drying-off with Turkish towels, followed by an hour's relaxation, tea, and conversation with friends—one of life's small but significant pleasures.

When you travel to Turkey, you should experience a Turkish bath. Every Turkish town still has at least one hamam, and cities have many. Most are simple and functional, but the historic hamams—especially those built by the sultans to serve their imperial mosques—are beautiful works of Ottoman architecture made of fine marble with rich decoration.

For more on the hamam experience, read my article "Taking Tea in Turkey."

To take your steam bath experience to a higher level, see Thermal Spa Resorts in Turkey.

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Cool Room of the Cagaloglu Hamam, Istanbul, Turkey

Above, the cool room of the Cagaloglu Hamam, near Sultanahmet in Istanbul, with a marble fountain and, on the upper level, cubicles for resting or napping after the bath.
Below, the popular Çemberlitas Hamami next to the Çemberlitas (Burnt Column) on Divan Yolu.